Nitish Kumar to raise special status issue for Bihar with Modi

Patna, (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was on Friday all set to remind Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the central government has failed to accord ‘special’ category status and package to Bihar, an official here said.

The Chief Minister will raise the issue at the Inter-State Council meeting in Delhi on Saturday, the official said.

“Nitish Kumar will raise the issue of special category status and special package for Bihar at the Inter-State Council meeting in Delhi to remind the Prime Minister of the promises he had made during the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls,” an official in the Chief Minister’s Office said.

The Chief Minister will leave Patna on Friday evening for Delhi to attend the meeting.

The Inter-State Council meet has been convened after a gap of 10 years.

“A select group of top officials of the Bihar administration worked hard to prepare documents following a directive of the Chief Minister,” the official added.

Earlier, the Chief Minister had said Bihar would take at least 25 years to touch the national average of economic growth if the special category status was not accorded.

During the 2015 Assembly elections, Prime Minister Modi had announced a Rs 1.25 lakh crore special package for Bihar.

However, nothing has happened after that, Janata Dal-United leaders have pointed out.